Lalaith
by hemlock1
Summary: A faery tale of my own. In a falling apart world, elves, dwarves, faery's, wizards, and humans all struggle to rebuild their land while fighting against the brink of insanity. *chapter 4 is up* PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!!!
1. Chapter 1

A/N: When you review this story (you are going to, aren't you? -_^) please say something other than "I like it!" or "Wonderful story!" or "That sucked!" Say _why _you loved it or liked it or hated it. Of course, all reviews are welcome.

Chapter 1-The Beginning

I stared down into the peaceful, flowing water. The blue surface rippled calmly, distorting my image in its sapphire depths. A tear slipped from my face and dropped into the river, pathetically pale compared to the vivid blue.

Gripping the lush grass tightly with my fingers, I fought against a sudden wave of nausea. Blue, the color of eternity. Full of light and brutally, grossly twisted into corruption. Fire, burnt flesh, my birthday, the sapphire, my family, me, _them_, the fire--it made a circle, flowing through my head unmercifully.

A bird called sweetly in the distance. Rage filled me, uncontrollable, and for once I didn't care. Peace shouldn't surround me; clouds should cover the sky, filling the air with thunder and lightning. Flooding the calm river, and sending torrents of blue raindrops down on me, soaking me with its blue beauty…

I opened my eyes and retched all over my hands. Giving in to the nausea, I vomited over and over, shaking. I couldn't stop. Blood covered the ground and then smeared into my eyes. I felt a cool sensation surround me and then slowly, slowly began losing consciousness.

---

"You are eternity,

I am part of you,

I am eternity.

The one and only,

You are,

I am you.

The chosen,

The one and only,

Only one.

We are,

Eternity,

You are eternity."

Pause.

"We are…

She isn't?

She is.

She must be!

We are."

Pause.

"She will be.

We are,

She will be."

---

A sharp pain shot through my wrist, jolting me awake. Blue water filled my eyes, washing out the red. Sitting up on the river's floor, I pushed off the sandy bottom and swam up until my head broke through the river's surface.

The agony of minutes before was still sharp in my mind, but peace filled me. I had the nightmare again last night.

Dipping my head back underneath the water, I let the blue fill my eyes, mouth and nose. This river had always been part of me. Blowing bubbles out of my mouth, I resurfaced. The sun was directly overhead. Pulling myself onto the riverbank, I wrung the water out of my clothes.

My stomach hurt from lack of food. Tugging at my long, snarled hair, I tied it up loosely. The elf camp was southeast of the river. Stepping onto the first stone, I crossed the bridge slowly, letting the water flow gently over my feet.

---


	2. Chapter 1, part 2

A/N: Okay, the old Chapter One part 2 sucked, so I rewrote it. I'm sorry if the plot is confusing, it will all be cleared up eventually. Just keep reading!

Huge thanks to Jenny the Chica, anon, azhrei, and Rose for your reviews! And for being specific :).

Chapter 1-continued

Rymella stood in front of her crude house, stirring a large pot of soup. A scowl was on her face, creasing her features into tight lines. Amioneyya was late again, and no one knew where she was.

Sighing, Rymella watched the steam as it rose from the kettle. The girl was a strange one, the whole village agreed on that. It was most likely the human blood that flowed through her with the elfin. Sure, Rymella felt bad for the girl, her whole family killed when she was only nine, but still! She'd watched over Amioneyya for seven years following her family's death and she understood the girl no better now than she did then. Of course, the girl's grandma had been a queer one. Bad blood. Rymella shuddered at the memory. It was a good thing the village had banished her. But Amioneyya wasn't like that, no. No.

Suddenly a young elf boy ran into the campsite. "The dwarves are coming! They're in the forest, heading this way!"

The words had barely finished flowing from his mouth when the surrounding trees rustled loudly and suddenly, there they were. Hordes of them, their squashed faces contorted into grotesque smiles, showing off pointed, rotting teeth. Grunting and wheezing, the dwarves thudded into the campsite. The air began to vibrate, pressing in on all sides. Hundreds of arrows whizzed toward the dwarf army. The attack began.

Gulping loudly, Rymella looked around her, terrified. The dwarves clearly outnumbered them. Dropping to the ground, she wormed her way around the fighters. There was no point in her getting killed. Suddenly a large, hairy pair of feet stepped in front of her nose.

"Going somewhere?" A voice snarled down. Slowly Rymella tilted her head back and gaped at a huge dwarf. His sword flashed brilliantly in the sun seconds before descending. Screaming, Rymella flung her arms over her head and waited for the blow.

But the sword never reached her. The dwarf crashed to the ground, shaking the earth violently. Timidly Rymella opened her eyes. Amioneyya stood above her, holding a bloody dagger.

"Come on, get up! Go to the edge of the campsite. It's safe there." 

Dragging Rymella to her feet, Amioneyya pushed her in that direction and disappeared back into the brawl.

Dazed, Rymella stared at the fight. In one corner a dwarf knocked a tent onto a pile of burning embers. The edge of the tent door caught on fire. A slight wind picked up and the fire quickly spread around the campsite. More screams filled the air. The dwarf leader noticed the smoke and grunted loudly. In a matter of seconds the dwarf army dispersed into the forest.

The fire continued to spread. Burnt plastic fumes rose from the tents. The camp was pure chaos as wails filled the air. Hurriedly men threw buckets of water on the raging flames, futilely attempting to dampen the fire. Panicked, several women ran into the blazing tents to save their possessions when a large tree crashed down in front of them. Trapped, they screamed helplessly as their clothing caught on fire and helped burn them alive. Rymella just sat down on the forest floor and stared. Her tent was burning. All her belongings, her cooking utensils, clothes, the beautiful rug her mother had given her, all burning.

Suddenly it began to rain. Sheets of water poured down hard, sending before it no warning. The fire began sputtering. 

The sudden forest rainstorm lasted for several minutes before ending as abruptly as it began. The fire was gone as well, leaving behind it charred remains of the campsite, and a thoroughly stunned group of people. 

Roric stepped into the center of the ruined camp and faced the elves, his face filled with sorrow. 

"Elves of Aliath, hear my words. Orin, my brother, your chief, is dead. We will not let today go unavenged! A great wrong has been committed against us. The dwarves will soon wish that they had never heard our name, the name of Aliath. I promise you, you will have your revenge!

But now, number the dead, gather up your possessions, and clean up this campsite. As you do so, comfort each other with these words. Our day will come!"

---

The funeral pyre burned high, flickering dull, ghost-like flames toward the star filled sky. Inside it five bodies lay, their outlines visible through the smoke. One of the bodies was Orin's, the beloved elf chief.

I stared at the fire, unblinking, smoke stinging my eyes. All around me elves wailed in sorrow. Hatred of the dwarves was thicker than ever. Before Orin tried to keep us at peace. Now Roric would lead us to war in revenge.

The enmity the dwarves had for us went back several generations. Recently they had grown more violent. Short raids became more and more frequent, leaving us stunned and confused. 

The dwarves were the ones who had killed my family, outraged that a human had married an elf. But I had survived. Slowly I turned away from the fire. Tomorrow the council was holding a meeting. My future was about to be decided.

---


	3. Chapter 1, part 3

"Come to us,

Why do you resist?

There is nothing left for you,

Only us.

Come to us."

"You could have saved them,

If you had called on us,

But you resisted.

Why?

You could have saved them."

"It is not too late,

For you,

If you stop resisting.

It is not too late."

"We are eternity,

Eternity shows all things.

We are,

You will be.

Come to us.

You will know all things,

We will show you.

We are eternity."

---

"Davie, hold on!" Rose cried out. Turning to Daniel, she spoke quickly. "Stay here. I'm going to get Jor. Don't move, you understand?"

Daniel nodded, scared. Rose dashed into the trees and out of sight. A small wail came out of the mud pit, followed by the sound of choking.

"Rose! Where are you?" David called out, spluttering on the mud that entered his mouth. "I'm sinking!" Desperately he tried kicking, but his legs were stuck. "Help!"

Little Daniel crawled forward, looking scared. "Davwid? Where are you?" His hands got stuck in the mud. Immediately he burst out crying. "Davwid!"

"Stay there, Daniel. Don't move!" David called back. Suddenly Rose burst into the clearing, leading Jor. She scooped up Daniel and stepped back from the pit. "I told you not to move!"

Jor walked to the edge of the mud and studied David. "Have you tried swimming out?" he asked.

"I can't. My legs are stuck."

"What about your arms?"

"They're not stuck."

"Okay," Jor spoke quickly to Rose, "here's what we'll do. I'll push one end of that long stick toward David and you and I'll hold the other end. On the count of three, start pulling." To David he called out, "When I push this stick toward you, grab the end. Rose and I will pull you out. Ready?"

"Ready."

"Okay. One, two, three!" Slowly they dragged David out of the mud and onto the grass. David stood up, dripping mud onto the ground.

"David, that's the second time this month you've fallen in there. You have to be more careful!"

"Sorry, Jor."

"Come on, let's get you and Daniel cleaned up. Mother will have a fit if she sees you like this, and it's almost time for dinner."

Immediately the four of them started walking back to the castle. When they passed the garden loud laughter filled the air and Jason walked out, followed by some visiting duke's daughter. Jason looked at the four of them, amusement playing across his face.

"What are you doing?" he asked Jor. Daniel spoke up first. 

"Davwid fell in the mud! He almost drownded." He announced importantly. 

"Oh?" Jason grinned at Daniel before looking up at Jor. "You'd better get them cleaned up. Mom will be angry." He lowered his voice slightly. "I heard you're leaving tomorrow. More trouble?"

Jor sighed. "I'll tell you later Jason," he said with a glance at the girl. "We'd better be going. It's almost dinner."

They walked away from Jason and slipped into one of the many back doors in the palace. Jor looked down at Rose. "I'll clean up David; you can clean up Daniel."

Rose nodded. "All right. Is there really more trouble, Jor?"

Jor nodded. "The goblins are acting up again. And we've also received news that there is the beginning of a war between the dwarves and elves." He sighed. "Since I'm the crown prince, I have to go along to check it out."

Rose looked worried. "Well…" she began, but never finished. A servant had approached them. 

"Dinner is ready."

Rose gasped. "Great," she groaned. Grabbing both David and Daniel, she sped down the hallway. "Tell mother I'll be a little late!"

---


	4. Chapter 2

A/N: I was going to post more than this for you guys (the interesting parts-including romance ^_^-are coming soon!) but the next section requires me to know a bit about fish ;) and I don't know if it'll take me forever to write, so I decided to post this part now. The ending may be changed when the next part is posted…

Now, on to my reviewers.

Jenny the Chica-Your review was specific enough :). Thankyou so much for being a constant reviewer! I really appreciate it.

Xaviera Xylira-Romance is coming! Eventually…it won't be perfectly black and white who she'll end up with-mostly 'cause I haven't decided yet ^_^-but it will be there! (It's just taking me longer than I thought it would to start off the plot). Thankyou for your wonderful review!

Firebird-Thankyou sooooo much for your long review!!! Your questions were really helpful-as the author I don't catch everything I'm implying and I need you all to tell me what you're thinking! So, thankyou thankyou thankyou! Castles are awesome, aren't they ;). I'm having a lot of fun with the one in my Snow White story.

Dancy-Don't worry about the long review on my Bin Laden thing. I love long reviews-feel free to leave them as long as you like! :) I'm going to read your story as soon as I find some time. Thanks for reviewing! The romance is coming…:)

Okay, on to the story!

________________________________

Chapter 2

"She can't stay!" Rosune thudded his goblet down on the crude table, spilling crimson drops onto the wood. Angrily he stood up. "She's part human, Roric. If allowed to stay, she'll only bring more trouble! She's been here too long already."

"Patience, my friend. The dwarves have been our enemies long before she was born. Our trouble with them isn't caused by her."

"That's what Orin said, and look at where he is now. The dwarf attacks have become more frequent since she's lived with us. She must go."

"And where does she have to go?"

"She's sixteen now, no longer a child." Calum cut in. "She can take care of herself."

Roric looked around him at the determined council members. "If we do force Amioneyya to leave, she'll become an outcast. No one will accept her. Is that what you want?"

Olim spoke up. "I, like you, wish that we didn't have to do this. But we have no choice! Remember who her grandmother was. Not only is Amioneyya's blood half tainted with human, the elfin is tainted as well. No, she cannot stay. In the end, it will all work out for the best."

Roric tried one last angle. "What about Rymella? She's the one who's been taking care of Amioneyya. What will she say to this?"

"I've already talked with her," Rosune stated confidently. "She's agreed that we'd be better off without Amioneyya."

"Very well. Amioneyya, by the ruling of the elfin council, is exiled from our camp. Meeting dismissed."

---

Rymella sat in front of the fire, shivering as the cold wind picked up. A group of six or seven elf children sat in front of her, their eyes shining in anticipation.

"Tell us the story of Dorl again!" A young girl cried out. The rest in the group nodded eagerly. 

"Again?" Rymella smiled. "Well, all right. Dorl lived many, many years ago, when all the elves lived together. There was no elf greater than him in the entire land. He became chief when he was only twenty-five, and was elected High Chief on his thirtieth birthday. For as long as he was High Chief the elves lived in peace. Neither dwarf nor human disturbed them. 

Then came the uprising of the goblins. Hideous creatures goblins are, full of dark magic. They began attacking, and one by one humans, dwarves, even wizards began falling under their power. In desperation they called out to Dorl for help.

And Dorl came. He brought with him the magnificent elf army, which was well renowned throughout the land. They rode out and met the goblins head on. A fierce and long battle ensued. Hundreds of elves died. And then, one glorious morning, the goblin leader was killed. The goblins fled and never returned.

Dorl rode back, triumphant. It was then that he gave us the elf code. When we die, our spirit joins his. We spend the rest of eternity in peace, roaming about the world and watching over our people."

"But what if we're bad?" a girl asked quietly. "Will we go to someplace bad?"

Rymella froze. "Where'd you get that idea?"

Another child spoke up. "We heard some grown-ups talking about 'Mioneyya. They said her grandma was a bad person, and that she always talked about a bad place people went to when they died."

Rymella shook her head. "Amioneyya's grandma was crazy. Don't listen to anything she said. There is no such thing as a bad afterlife."

---

"You can't run much longer,

You'll fall soon.

We're your only hope.

Come to us,

Before it's too late.

You can't run much longer."

"Come to us,

We'll help you.

Become one of us,

You'll help yourself.

You're almost there,

A few more steps…

Com---"

I woke abruptly, shaking involuntarily. My heart pounded wildly, increasing in speed event though I was awake. I couldn't shake off the fear. It clung to me, sinking into my soul mercilessly.

The same nightmares had been haunting me since I was young. No matter what I did, I couldn't shake off the reality they brought with them. There was something in the dreams that took hold of me, something I couldn't release myself from. 

It scared me. I couldn't get away from it.

I tried to stop my legs from shaking. The cave's darkness pressed in on me. Grabbing a blanket, I crawled out of the cave. The cold bit into my skin. Pulling the blanket tightly around my shoulders, I stared up at the stars. They flickered coldly, far away from me and the earth I lived on. I hugged my knees closer to my chest and pressed my head against them. Exhaustion pushed in on me, but I didn't dare fall back asleep for fear of dreaming.

The dreams always brought with them fear and uncertainty. I wasn't sure which was worse. The fear was nameless; it was just there, a part of me as much as love was, or hate. Yet, it didn't feel like mine, but rather someone else's intruded upon me-an uninvited tyrant that I couldn't get rid of, or control. 

The sky turned a dark gray, putting out the stars. Sunrise had begun. I leaned back against the stone outside of the cave, huddled tightly in my blanket. Morning always managed to chase the fear from me, leaving me in peace 'till the sun set. A cold wind blew up from the valley below the cave, playing with my hair. I smiled slightly. Today I needed to find work. Pulling on my cloak, I climbed off the cave ledge and headed toward the city.


End file.
